ANGELS CAN'T FIND WAY TO RETALIATE OFFENSE ON HEELS IN LOSS TO BRAVES ATLANTA 3, ANGELS 2.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ATLANTA - After getting 14 hits Monday night - 13 with the bat and one from Darin Erstad's body - the Angels' bats went soft against Atlanta Braves pitcher Horacio Ramirez in a 3-2 loss Tuesday night in front of 25,276 at Turner Field.

Erstad's collision at the plate with Braves catcher Johnny Estrada, who spent the night in the hospital with a mild concussion, wasn't forgotten, however. When Erstad came to bat in the top of the first inning, Ramirez's first pitch was thrown behind Erstad.

Plate umpire Lance Barksdale immediately warned both benches, which angered Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

``There should have been no warning,'' Scioscia said. ``He should have been ejected. There was no doubt about the intent of the pitch. He threw it behind him. He should have been ejected from the game. I don't know what you could've been looking at to miss the intent.''

The pitch didn't sit well with Erstad's teammates, either.

``I understand the guy's protecting his catcher, but (the collision) was just good, clean baseball,'' Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy said. ``If they can't handle that, I don't know. You'd think they could understand the game a little better than that.''

Angels pitcher Paul Byrd could not retaliate because of the warning, risking ejection if the umpire ruled hitting a Braves batter was intentional.

``The first thing you want to do is stand somebody up,'' Byrd said, referring to an inside pitch. ``Let's say I do that and hit (a Braves batter). Now who do we have come in the game?''

The warning also might have had an effect on how Byrd approached hitters. But he made his case on the way out to the mound for the bottom of the first.

``I made sure to tell the umpire that I pitch inside all the time,'' said Byrd (5-5), who gave up three runs and nine hits in seven innings and got the loss. ``There's a risk of hitting people. I told Lance, I told him I have to throw inside.

``What I was fearful of was he wouldn't call the inside strike, forcing you to go away. But he did a good job of calling the inside strike.''

Byrd did hit one batter, getting Andruw Jones to lead off the fourth inning. But Byrd argued Jones made no attempt to get out of the way, and replays backed him up. Jones eventually scored in the inning to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

``It's just a rule that's not enforced,'' Byrd said. ``You rarely see it. If he moves at all, it doesn't hit him.''

Meanwhile, Erstad took everything in stride, saying he never has and never will charge the mound under any circumstances. And he said he held no hard feelings for Ramirez.

Asked for his reaction to the Ramirez's pitch behind him, Erstad said: ``There isn't one, it's part of the game. He's sticking up for his teammate. That's what people do.''

When asked if he thought Ramirez's pitch was intentional, Erstad laughed and said: ``C'mon ... I can't speak for him. I don't know.''

Ramirez was vague when asked about the pitch.

``It was a little two-seamer that got away from me,'' he said.

Joe Haakenson, [phone]

joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

4 boxes

Box:

(1) ANGELS at ATLANTA

- Joe Haakenson

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC